The long road home
by CercandoUnaVoce
Summary: What if Otis' recovery doesn't go as well as it seems? How will he cope with some more unexpected? And how will the 51 family react? -I'm not a native English speaker so forgive me for grammar mistakes- -I'm always open to constructive critics-
1. Chapter 1

Otis struggled along the hallway to his apartment door,  
he didn't remember his apartment to be so far from the elevator;

as everything was hurting, he had to concentrate on every step to reach his goal.

In the bullpen, it was a pretty quiet day and later, at Molly's north, Lily didn't let him do much,  
"how could I be so tired?" he asked himself.

He had no idea, all he knew was that if he wanted to come back at the firehouse on full duty he had to do his exercise every single night, even that one, no matter how tired he was.

He insert the key and walked in,  
Cruz and Brett weren't home, probably still at Molly's,  
which was actually a good thing for him because, as much as he appreciated how his friends encouraged him and cared for him, most of the times he didn't feel like he was making enough progress, and despite them would tell him he was strong and tough, he often felt too weak and vulnerable and he didn't like to appear like that in front of them;

he wouldn't mind a little privacy now and then, doing what he had to do without bothering anyone.

Otis changed his clothes and brought the papers with the instruction the doctor gave him.

His head was heavy and his legs did not fully respond to his will, but he wouldn't let the pain take over: he had to be stronger.

"Ok, let's start this" he mumbled, ready to start with exercise number one.

He growled all the time, as the pain increased as the therapy progressed;

completing even the simplest exercise was becoming harder and harder.

"Oh, this doesn't feel right, I'll might take a break" he though.

He was feeling sore and dizzy, so he firmly grabbed the cane, and made his way to the kitchen to drink some fresh water.

As he exited his room his head started spinning and his sight doubled,  
he leaned back against the wall, and he noticed his nose had started bleeding,  
"oh, man, this can't be good at all!".

He had to sit on the floor to not fall and harm himself;

unable to get up, he tried to drag himself along to reach his cellphone.

His movement were slowed and he felt his head going more and more heavy,

he managed to do only a few centimeters before he lost consciousness.

When Brett and Cruz came home, they opened the door quietly, just to find their friend unconscious on the floor.

They looked each other,  
"oh my God, Otis!" the paramedic said rushing to his side,  
"what the hell has happened?" The firefighter asked seeing the blood near his friend face.

They kneeled by his side, trying to figure out what to do;  
Sylvie started checking on him,"Otis? Otis can you hear me?"

He moaned.

Cruz took a couple of towel, he put one under his friend's neck, and handed the other one to Brett, who used it to clean her friend's face, and stop the nose bleeding.

"Ok Joe, hold his head, we have to set him in the safety position" the blonde said, looking to his almost panicking friend,

he nodded and did what she said.

"Otis, please, you can't do this to me, c'mon wake up buddy" Joe preyed feeling powerless  
then he looked Sylvie "he is so pale, did you stop the bleeding?"

She nodded.

"What can I do?  
Shell we call an ambulance?" Joe added.

"Wait, he is regaining consciousness,"

Otis started whining as he tried to move,

"hold on Otis, we've got you, just stay still" Sylvie tried to calm him down.

"No, no ambulance please, I'm... ahg.. I'm fine" he said, trying again to get up till the pain kicked in.

"Hei it's ok, take it easy, brother" Joe stepped in, gently pushing his hand over his friend chest.

"Can you tell us what happened?"

"I... I don't know...  
I was doing my exercise and...  
uhg... my head was...  
I don't know...  
I just felt dizzy and my nose started bleeding...  
I couldn't... I couldn't..."

Brett was monitoring his vitals, and noticed his pulse rage was very fast.

"Calm down, it's ok, we will figure it out, just breath, ok?  
We are here now" she reassured him.

"Now we'll take you the Med, ok?"

"No, I'm fine... it's just a little nose bleeding.. I..." Otis managed to put himself in a sitting position, despite his friends effort to make him still,

"stop right there Otis! You sustained a severe injury, now you fainted, you are disoriented, and that simple nose bleeding can be a symptom of your platelet condition: you can't underestimate this!" Sylvie said firmly,

"I'll give you two choices; we can call an ambulance and force you to go, or we can wait a couple of minutes, till you are able to get up, and take you personally there, understood?"

Otis nodded resigned "the second one, please,"

"I had no doubt about that" said Joe smiling to Brett proud of her being so tough.

"Hei, man, do you want me to call Lily for you?"

"No, please, I don't want her to go through this again! I'm calling her as soon as this settles down ... I need to know exactly what to say to her".

When he felt good to go, the paramedic checked his pulse a last time, to make sure he actually was, "it's a little fast but steady"  
she nodded, so she and Cruz helped him getting on his feet;  
she hand Otis his cane and went down to prep the car.

"You have to stop making me worry like that" Joe couldn't hold back, while helping him on his way to the elevator.

"I didn't mean to..." Otis tried to apologize,  
he understood how his friend was feeling, and that made him feel even more vulnerable.

Joe noticed that, and tried to cheer him up "I didn't mean to upset you, you know, I'm right here for you,"

Otis could just nod, struggling to stay solid on his feet, even with the cane's help.

When they got out their building Brett was already there with the car running,

Joe opened the back door, and helped him in

"Thank you guys" he managed to say before leaning heavily on the seat.

The other two looked at each other worried, and as soon as Joe stepped in the car they left for the hospital.


	2. Chapter 2

Cruz entered the emergency room first, looking for dr. Choi, while Brett was helping Otis out the car;  
"alright, thanks Sylvie, but I feel better now, I can walk on my own,"  
"or not..." he added, as she was not letting him go.

"This way" a nurse lead the way to an exam room and handed Otis a gown;

"oh, this won't be necessary..." he uselessly tried to oppose,

"settle in! Doctor should be here any minute."

"And take that annoyed look off your face!  
It's not our fault, we are just trying to help here..." Brett said.

"Hey what's wrong Brian? Do you already miss us?" dr. Choi said, entering the room.

"Yhea, I think it's nothing, they actually forced me in...  
I just felt a little dizzy while I was doing my exercises"

"he had nose bleeding, and he fainted; we found him unresponsive on the floor, and when he regained consciousness, he was confused, and couldn't tell us exactly what happened" Brett interrupted,

"oh c'mon..." he tried to protest again,

"this don't seem nothing to me!" she finished.

"She is right; let's start checking your vitals, and then we will see" the doctor stated,  
connecting him to a cardiac monitor, while the nurse measured his blood pressure and temperature.

Cruz and Brett stood there, unsure if they should stay, or they needed to exit .

"Ok guys his pulse rage is a bit too fast, and his blood pressure is definitely low;  
that easily explains the nose bleeding" dr. Choi said,  
"and he has a slight fever too" the nurse added.

"Ok, so what now?" Otis said.

"Look, this could be nothing, but I would like to keep you in for the night, just to monitor the situation".

"Is this really necessary? Can't I keep my blood pressure under control at home?  
After all, I live with a couple of overprotective first responders."

"Hey don't' be a baby, just do what the doctor says, brother."

"Yes it is necessary! You need rest;  
I think you are pushing yourself too hard.  
We have to revalue, and most likely slow down your physical therapy, plus if your symptoms don't improve by the morning, we will have to run some tests to make sure there are no blood clots in your body that could cause more problems".

"Ok..." Otis said, trying hardly to seem more annoyed than scared.

"Perfect, I'll go grab your admission paper" dr. Choi said him, then he turned to the other two  
"sorry guys but when I'm back you need to go,"

"ok, thanks doc".

"So guys, I will spend the night here, but only if you don't tell anyone about this!"

"I think you are getting delirious; you are asking Brett to keep a secret?"

"very kind Joe, very kind... and no, Otis, I'm not gonna lie to our colleague and friends" .

"I'm just asking not to make anyone worry if it is not strictly necessary, ok? Just till I get sure news, please!  
I will personally call the chief tomorrow morning, I promise.  
Just, please, can you do as I ask?"

Cruz and Brett looked at the monitor he was connected to and then at each other,  
"ok" he said, and she reluctantly nodded.

"We'll stop by in the morning, before shift starts, just let us know if you need anything" Brett assured,

"yeah, I'll take you a change of clothes and the basic stuff, for now, just rest and recover" Cruz added.

"Thank you guys, you don't need to worry, I'll be fine!" Otis said, and greeted his friends while they left, than he signed the admission papers.

"Now I need to collect a blood sample to run some routine tests, and then I'll give you a light sedative to help you relax" Dr. Choi said, and after he did that he left him alone.

His head was pumping, the heart monitor was still beeping fast;

he was again overwhelmed by the situation.

"Why does this have to happen to me?

The rehab was already taking so much time... I don't need to slow it down even more!  
This is just crazy..."

Luckily the sedative didn't take too long to step in, and his thoughts could pause for a while.


	3. Chapter 3

Otis slowly opened his eyes,  
he found himself surrounded by a week cold light;  
the room was silent except for a regular beeping sound.

As he felt his left arm compressed, he heard the beeping growing faster.

Then he recalled: he was at Med;  
he was connected to an heart monitor, and what was compressing his arm was only a blood pressure cuff.

A couple of minutes later a nurse stopped by to check on him

"hi, how are you feeling?"

"Just ready to go home" he replied, letting her checking on his vitals and temperature.

"I won't doubt that, but not so fast..." she paused, looking her notes;

"it's only 4 am, you should take a little more rest".

That didn't sound such a bad idea so he tried to go back to sleep.

He woke up again around 6.30, this time he put himself in a sitting position to reach the water jag on the table next to the bed.

Then he heavily laid back to the bed, waiting for the doctor to say something.

Dr. Choi walked in around 7 am, and looked at his medical file.

"What's happening doc?"

"so, the good news is your vitals are stable and your blood pressure almost reverted to normal"

"the good news, so there's a bad news?"

"I'm confident it's nothing to be overly concerned about;  
you came here with a slight fever, but your temperature keep climbing,  
I'm sure you're feeling it," he could see his patient sweat but shivering.

"It's been a while since you had surgery, but I need to make sure this his unrelated."

Otis nodded, unable to protest with him.

"I'm pretty sure the stress caused all this so you should just rest, and take it easy for a few days,  
in the meantime, we will give you a full cycle of antibiotics and a bag of fluids to keep you hydrated," he said getting the IV in.

Otis sighted.

"Look, I understand this is hard for you,  
you want to get back to full duty, and I know you are used to stressful situation, but all this pressure you are putting on yourself right now, it isn't healthy at all."

Otis nodded again;

"it's just frustrating... it feels like every time I make a step in the right direction, then I make two steps back."

Dr. Choi put a hand over his patient's shoulder,  
"you need to give yourself the time to heal, Brian."

After the doctor left he grabbed his phone;

"Hei chief, it's Otis...  
I just wanna tell you I'm not coming to the bullpen for a few days...  
it appears I have a flu or something , nothing to worry about, but it's better if I just stay in bed...  
you know,"

'Of course, take your time,' he heard before thanking him and hanging up the phone.

"So, you just lied to the chief" Sylvie said, coming in the room.

"I actually didn't... I just told him the bare minimum."

"Yhea, but if he asks me something, I won't cover for you,"

"same for me, man."  
Joe put a bag on the table next the bed,  
"I took you some basic stuff, but I don't know if they're enough.  
Don't look so puzzled, we crossed the doctor in the hallway."

He nodded in appreciation;

"You don't need to worry about me, you know, right?"

"We will always worry about you, look at you! You are a mess" Sylvie said.

"Oh... That's so sweet of you guys...  
thanks."

The two visitors looked each other,  
"She's right, you look awful; you should do as doc said and rest,  
plus we won't to be late for work, so... we'll see you after shift."

"Oh, that's no need guys..."

"We will! And there's anything you can say to avoid that!" Then they left.

Otis looked at his hands, he was still holding his cell phone, and he noticed he had an unheard text.  
It was a good morning message from Lily.

'I should really call her now...  
she would be so mad if she discover this from someone else' he thought and he dealed her number.

"Hi Lily, it's... it's Brian..."

'Brian! Did you received my text? How are you feeling?'

"I'm... actually I am at Med..."

'What... what happened? Are you ok? I'll be there as soon as I can'

"Wait! Wait! I'm fine, I'm just running a fever, a couple of days of bed rest and I'll be as good as new, ok?"

'If you said so...' she could clearly feel the fatigue in his voice  
'but I'm still coming! I'll be there in 20 minutes.'

"Alright, calm down...  
Take a breath...  
there is no rush.  
Cruz and Brett just been here,  
and the doctor said I just need some more sleep,  
so...  
maybe it's better if you came here in a couple of hours, ok?"

'Yeah, ok... I'll do as you said.' She wasn't convinced at all, but she couldn't disappoint him.  
'Do you need something from home?'

"Cruz got me covered, thank you...  
just try not to worry too much...  
I'm fine, I promise."

'Yeah, you should go back to sleep now...  
I'll see you in a couple of hours then...'

"That sounds good, thanks, bye."

He hung up, and surprisingly it took him just a minute to fall asleep again.


	4. Chapter 4

Brian's phone call scared Lily.  
She knew he said he was ok, and she shouldn't worry, but he was in hospital again, and his voice seemed so distant;

how could she not worry for him?

She agreed to wait a couple hours before getting at the Med, but, as he didn't actually explained her what happened that took him in there, she decided to call Brett.

.

.

.

Sylvie was in the common room at the firehouse when her phone rang,  
she wasn't too surprised to see Lily's name as the caller id;

she just hoped Lily was calling to have some information, and not to share bad news.

She tried to get somewhere private, without seeming too suspicious in his colleagues' eyes, and answered the phone.

"Hello,"

'Hi, Sylvie, it's Lily... sorry to bother you, but...  
Brian called me from the hospital...  
He told me he is ok, but if he really is, why is he in there?'

"I'm so glad he managed to call you! He didn't want anyone to know..."

'How much do we need to worry?'

"Listen I'm sure he will be ok, he just has a temperature, doctor said the stress caused it."

'So that's really it? He will be fine?'

"Yes, we just have to calm him down, he his pushing himself too hard... he can be so stubborn!"

'Oh, yeah, I know!  
I'm going to see him later... I just hope he will listen to me...'

Brett noticed someone was approaching, and, as Otis requested, she didn't want anyone to hear the conversation.

"You will made him listen, I know that...  
I've got to go now... we will catch up later"  
she hung up.

Hiding something wasn't her strong point, everybody in the house knew that, and her trying not to seem suspicious, while Hermann was passing by, actually caught his attention.

He entered the common room while she went toward the locker room.

Mouch and Cruz were sitting on the couch.

"Hey, what's going on with Brett?"

"Nothing!" Cruz answered in hurry,  
"I mean, why? she seems perfectly normal to me" he added;

"she is clearly up on something, didn't you notice?" Mouch said,

"he knows! What is it? C'mon you can tell us" Hermann said,

"hey, I'm not her babysitter... but, actually I'm going to find out," Cruz said, quickly leaving the room, while the other two looked at him puzzled.

He reached the paramedic in the locker room;

"They know something is going on!  
We should tell them..."

"I know Joe, but, if he comes home tonight, he will kill us for having told the guys"

"Yes... and, if he doesn't, they will kill us for saying nothing,"

-Ambulance 61, woman in distress- the speaker called;

they looked at each other for a moment, then she hurried toward the ambulance.

.

.

.

Lily felt reassured from Brett's words, but the weak sound of Brian's voice was stuck into her mind;

'it's only a flu, a stupid flu,' she kept repeating to herself.

'At least this time he didn't push me away too hard...  
he said not to rush in, but he said he wanted to see me,  
that's good: I'm going in the right direction with him.'

She couldn't stay put, waiting the time to pass, so she tried to follow her normal routine, and she started cleaning her apartment;  
she was doing her laundry, she collected her clothes just to realize she was putting them in the oven instead of in the washing machine.

'Perfect! C'mon Lily calm down, concentrate!'

She managed to complete her task correctly, and decided to go straight at Med, before she could cause any accident, so she grabbed her keys and made her way to her car.


	5. Chapter 5

Lily arrived at Med, and went strictly to the receptionist, as soon as she learned Otis' room's number, she made her way to see him.

He was asleep, but he was however agitated;

she could see his muscles being rigid, and his body shaking.

She approached his bed, and kissed his forehead;  
he was sweat, hot like a little stove, his cheeks vivid red, his skin burning, but despite all that, he was shivering uncontrollably.

She tried to woke him up, unsuccessfully.

Lily didn't know what to do but press the button to call in a nurse.

"Something wrong?" the nurse asked, getting in,

"I don't know... I can't wake him, and I think his fever got worst"

The nurse checked him:

"you're right, his temperature rose significantly in the past hour."

He become more agitated, and started mumbling something they couldn't understand,

"hey, Brian, it's ok, I'm right here," Lily said, but he continued murmuring confusingly, probably in Russian.

"I'll let the doctor know the change in his condition, I'll be back in a minute whit cold compresses to help lower his fever".

Lily nodded then took Brian's hand, and stared at him, holding her breath, waiting the nurse to come back.

.

About an hour later his temperature didn't lower, despite the cool packages on his forehead.

She could just stood there, feeling powerless.

He started agitating again,  
"the fire... we have to... get out... it's too hot... the fire is..."

"Brian, you are safe! You are at the hospital, there is no fire! Calm down..."

Lily took off the now warm package from his forehead, and searched for a fresher one to put on, but there were any.

She didn't want to leave him alone, even for one minute, but she needed to bring new cold compresses, so she reluctantly went for them.

"Lily!"

She stopped hearing her name, she turned out to see Dawson and Brett in the hallway.

"What are you doing here?"

"It's Brian..." she replied heading back to his room,

"what happened?" Dawson asked following her

Brett noticed Lily was too way concerned, and she started worrying;

"did he get worse?" she asked,

"wait, did you know Otis was here?

Can someone tell me what happened?

Brett?"

Dawson stopped when they arrived at their friend's room and,  
while Lily rushed to his side, the other two could just stand by the door,  
seeing him semiconscious, tossing and turning in the hospital bed, made them feel like receiving a gut punch.

"I didn't expect that... he wasn't that bad this morning..." Brett said, as she was trying to apologize, and finally explained Dawson how he ended up in hospital again.

"His temperature won't stop climbing..." Lily turned to the two paramedics,

"the fire... we have to clear the building..." Otis started saying;

"he is being delusional. He keeps telling that or mumbling something in Russian..."

"I'll get someone" Brett said.

.

Dr. Choi arrived, and checked on his patient,

"Prepare an ice bath," he told a nurse,

"sorry guys, you have to step outside."

"What's going on?" they asked,

"the antibiotic we gave him isn't working, we will replace it, but first we need to lower his temperature, before it causes permanent damages "

"permanent dam..." Lily was almost fainting so Brett escorted her out,

"let's them do their job, he is in very good hands" she tried to reassure her heading to the waiting room.

Dr. Choi disconnected the IVs to easily transfer his patient, and Dawson helped him moving the bed to another room, where the nurse had filled a large tank with ice.

They took off the blankets and the gown, leaving him in his underwear.

They move him inside the tank, he tried to oppose, but he had not the strength to fight the doctor.  
He was still delirious and agitated, his body tensed and his skin flushing form vivid red to pale blue.

"You have to go," dr. Choi said "we'll let you know as soon as we bring him back to his room."

Dawson nodded;  
she couldn't watch her friend like that so she made her way to reach Brett and Lily in the waiting room.

"He is strong," she said approaching them "he will get out better than ever."

Lily sighted.

"I know that he walks in burning buildings, and that he knows how to face fire, but, now, he is burning form the inside... how can he face that?" she said.

"This people, right here, are the best, and he has strong will: he can do this, I'm sure he can! And he has us," Brett said, putting a hand on Lily's back, and reaching for her partner look to have herself some reassurance.

"I need to call Matt, let him know why we are still here, he will tell the chief and the others."

Brett nodded and Dawson stepped outside to make the call.

"The guys will totally freak out... I bet they will wish they could be here;  
they will be so mad for not telling them sooner, and when Otis wakes up he will pretend to be mad at me for telling them..."

"I know, you really have a great family there..." Lily said forcing a smile.


	6. Chapter 6

Casey's cell phone rang, he saw it was his wife calling, so he closed his office's door and picked up,

"Gabby, where are you? What's taking you so long?"

'Don't worry for us, we are still at Med.'

"Something wrong with the call?"

'Oh, no, the call was just fine, our victim will be released in a few hours,  
but we bumped into Lily in the hallway, Otis is here...'

"Wait, what happened whit Otis?"

'It appears he had some problems last night, so Brett and Cruz took him here, and the doctor kept him in for precaution; his temperature climbed uncontrollably since then, and they are struggling to keep it under control.  
We had to step out to the waiting room, there's nothing we can do for now.'

"Ok, I'll talk to the chief, but we probably should be there anyway,  
we will stick to the radio and respond any call will may arrive from there."

'That sounds good, I'm going back inside, I love you.'

"I love you too."

He hung up, and went strictly to Boden's office.

.

"Pack up guys, we are going for a ride,"Casey said, as they immediately started to move.

"Listen guys, It's for Otis, Dawson just called me from Med,"

all the firefighters froze and stared at him.

"He had a relapse, a high temperature hardly to control"

"What? But he only had some dash of fever this morning, and doc said he was going to be well soon" Cruz said.

"Wait, you knew he was sick and you hide it from us?" Hermann asked,

"he asked me to, I would not have done that if I knew he was this bad..."

"That doesn't metter right now, let's go" Casey said.

"Lieutenant can I..."

-Engine 51, Truck 81, squad 3, domestic fire at 23 St. James street-

"sorry Cruz, we will see him after the call!" Severide said.

"Ok guys, we have to focus on this fire, I know it's not easy right now, but our work comes first and Otis know that, he would like us to do our best".

They all nodded and ran to their vehicles.

.

.

.

"It's a text form Casey, they had a call, but they will be here as soon they finish" Dawson said.

"Gosh, it seems we are waiting here for hours" Lily said "What do you think are they doing to him?"

"We have to wait the ice makes its effect, it's not that quick, just hold on, ok?" Dowson said, and she nodded.

.

The nurse helped dr. Choi taking Otis back to his room,

the ice bath was quite effective, his temperature lowered, but he still needed cold packages to take it under control.

They replaced the IVs, giving him stronger antibiotics to defeat the fever, and more liquid to keep him hydrated.

They checked his vitals,

"His BP is again too low, it could be for the fever, but we need to make sure this isn't connected with the last surgery he had," dr. Choi said the nurse "please schedule an MRI as soon as possible."

.

"He is back in his room, we managed to stabilize his fever, but his blood pressure is at minimum right now, we need to run an MRI to be sure there's nothing more we should worry about" the doctor said;

"can we see him?" Lily asked,

"he is still unconscious, but you can go in till we get him to exam room."

The three women headed back to their friend's room, he was deeply asleep,

"he seems so calm now," Lily said,

his cheeks were still marked red, but the rest of his skin was back to a more healthy color.

-Ambulance 61, car accident, please respond- Dawson's radio sounded,

"Brett, we have to go."

"We will be back as soon as we can, keep us posted," Sylvie said Lily, giving a long last look to his unconscious friend right before following her partner outside.

.

About an hour later the two paramedics came back at Med with their new patient, as soon as they delivered him to the doctors, they noticed the group of firefighter approaching.

"Hey, how is he?" Hermann asked,

"we just got in, we had a call" Dawson said.

They spotted Lily in the waiting room and they reached her,

"he is being examined" she said "but they should have finished by now."

.

Only a few weeks before, their friend was injured on the job, he took a bullet in the neck, and they were there for him, till he was stable and talking;  
then he found out he couldn't move his legs, and they where there, supporting him and cheering him up during his rehab;  
now, just when he seemed out of the woods, they are there again, waiting to know what's next.

"How is this even possible? I mean, he was ok, he was almost back on his feet, he seemed quite good" Cruz said.

"Ok, people, calm down," Chief Boden said, "we are all here for him, there's nothing more we can do for now but wait, just try to not get ahead of ourselves."

Hermann stepped up seeing dr. Choi approaching,

"what's happening doc?"

"This is serious guys, the MRI showed a small crack in his spine, among his c1 e c2 vertebrae, he is leaking spinal fluid from there, that's why his pressure lowered so much and the infection got him so heavily"

"Oh my God, is it as bad as it sound?" Lily asked panicking,

"wait, but you said the bullet didn't hit his spine!" Cruz said,

"yes, it didn't, but the pressure caused by the shock wave must have caused that,"

"how could you miss that till now?" Hermann said,

"it was a really small crack, and it was covered by the swallowing around the wound, but now, due to the physical rehabilitation and the pressure he put on himself, the crack must become more relevant, and the leak started to happen."

They were all shocked and confused;

"we are going to perform an emergency surgery right know, to stop the leak, and make sure he will fully recover this time.  
I'm not going to lie, due to his past problems this is an extremely high risk procedure, but we have no choice, leakage of spinal fluid is a serious issues."

"Dr. Choi your patient is ready" a nurse stepped in.

He nodded "I have to go, we will keep you informed,"

"thanks doc," Casey said.

Lily couldn't hold back the tires, while Brett tried to comfort her.

No one could say a word, the whole bunch of first responders were completely silent, the tension in the waiting room was palpable;

they could just wait there, and pray for their friend.


	7. Chapter 7

The silence in the waiting room was dreadful. Everyone there was deeply thinking.

'Maybe I shouldn't ask him to come working in the bullpen so soon.' Chief Boden thought.

'I should have been more present for him.' Cruz thought.

'We should brought him here sooner.' Brett thought.

'I should have paid more attention to him.' Hermann thought.

'How could this happened under our eyes?' Casey thought.

Everybody there was thinking they could have done more for their friend.

.

Maggie was looking at them from the reception.

She was used to see every kind of reaction from the patients' loved ones, and she knew pretty well first responders, so she could clearly imagine what was going on in their minds.

"Listen guys, this things can happen," she said approaching them, "complications happen every day. The doctors can be the best of the best, but every case is different. The one thing I can say to you, is that doctors here know how to react to this situation."

They remained in profound silence.

"And now I want all of you to listen very carefully," she continued, "this is anybody's fault! No one could prevent this, you took him here just when he needed, you couldn't do more."

"Thanks Maggie." The chief said, as she nodded, and went back to the reception.

Boden took a deep breath. "She is right."

The guys all looked at him.

"This was unexpected, but we are trained to react to unexpected."

His audience was listening carefully.

"Otis went through a lot in the past few weeks, and us with him, as the family we are, and for sure we won't stop being one now," he continued, "we will stick together, as we always do, we will just be there for each other."

"Hear hear, chief" Casey said, while the others nodded.

.

The firefighters jumped up as dr. Choi approached the waiting room.

"He got through pretty well, but the surgery took a little more time than we expected, and we will still have to wait, to see if we succeeded in stopping the leak."

"What does that exactly mean doc?" Casey said.

"We had to apply a blood patch to the crack in his spine; that means we took some blood from a vane in his arm, and we mixed it with some fibrin glue; then we inject the mixture on his spine, to plug the leak.  
The problem here is, he has a blood clotting condition, so we can't be sure if this patch we applied will be effective, or if we have to intervene again."

Hermann had to sit back again.

"We will keep him sedated for the next twenty-four hours, to minimize his movement, and give the treatment a bigger chance to be effective."

"Can we see him?" Lily asked.

"As I told you, he is deeply sedate, but yes, a couple of visitors at a time should be fine."

"Thanks doc." Casey said.

Lily and Joe were the first to go see him.

Otis was lying still, with a neck brace to hold him perfectly in position, and all sort of tubes and IVs to provide him all he needed.

That was quite a déjà vu for them, except this time they knew for sure he wasn't going to wake up any time soon.

Lily took his hand, he was completely motionless and unresponsive.

She looked at Cruz, unable to say anything.

He took a deep breath. "We are here brother, hang in there."

"Do you think he can hear us?"

"I don't know... I'm just trying." He looked at her, then back at him. "I mean, I don't know if he can feel us here right now, but I'm sure he knows we are."

She was trying to hold back the tears. "I don't know how to do this, Joe, I'm..."

"I hear you, ok? I don't know either; no one does, all of us is reacting differently here, it's a normal thing..." He put a hand on her shoulder.

"You are doing great, you are being stronger than anyone expected, you know? We just have to stay positive, and, as the chief said, we will be there for him and for each other, and that includes you."

She sighted, "thanks Joe."

"Listen, I'm going to step back for now, give space to the others to visit him before they go; do you want a few minutes alone with him, before I send someone inside?" Joe asked,

"it's ok, thanks; as you said, he needs to feel the whole family is here for him."

.

All the firefighters and the two paramedics went in, in turn, to briefly see him. They were all heartbroken to see him like that, and to not be able to do anything for him.

Hermann was the only one who haven't gone in yet.

"C'mon, it's your turn, then we have to go back at the firehouse, and end our shift." Chief Boden said.

"If you don't mind," he said, "I prefer to stay here a little longer. I'll call Cindy to come get me..."

The chief nodded. "All right guys, it's time to go."

"Hey, tell Lily I'll be back soon, I'm not gonna leave them like this, ok?" Joe asked Hermann,

He nodded, and watched his colleagues reluctantly leaving the hospital.

Hermann had to recall his strengths before he could go see his friend.

He stopped by the door, watching Lily dry his friend's forehead.

He took a deep breath, then he went in.

She looked at him. "I'm so glad you're here."

"Of course I am! The others had to leave for now, but I'm staying for a while, and later Cruz will relieve me."

"It' so hard to see him like this...You... You don't have to, if you..."

"Actually, I need to be here... I may not be useful to him, but it helps me thinking I am doing something..."

"You are helpful to me..." She said.

He smiled, and he set on the chair near his friend's bed, watching over his forced sleep.


	8. Chapter 8

The 51 family watched Cruz as he entered the common room.

"Any news?" Casey asked.

He shook his head. "Not yet. I left him with Lily, she will update us as soon as he is examined."

Hermann sighted deeply.

"I'm sure he is gonna be alright, he just needs time." The captain said.

They nodded, trying not to think at the worst scenario.

.

At the squad table, Cruz kept looking at his phone.

"You know that staring at the screen won't make him ring, right?" Cap said.

Cruz sighted. "It's been more than 24 hours now, we should already know if the surgery was successful."

"Like Casey said, give him time. We all see what the rush did to him the last time." Severide said.

In that moment Cruz's phone beeped.

"It a text from Lily." He said, heading toward the common room, to make all aware of what was going on to their friend.

"BP is stable, fever almost gone. It appears the surgery was successful, but they need to keep him sedate a bit longer, to make the crack settle for good." He read from his phone.

"What does it mean -it appears-? Is he ok, or not?" Hermann said.

"They are just being cautious, due to what happened last time they said he was ok." Dawson said, "but I'm sure there is no reason to doubt of them now."

.

After the shift Cruz and Brett went to the Med to see their friend.

When they arrived they found Lily half-asleep, leaning near Otis' head.

"Hey, Lily." Brett gently woke her up. "You should go home rest now, dr. Choi said they will keep Brian deeply sedate till next morning, you don't have to worry for him."

Cruz was staring at his motionless friend.

"She is right. You can go, we will stay here for a while. " He said.

Lily looked at them unsure.

"You can relax, you will be there when he wakes up tomorrow." He added.

She nodded. "Ok," she looked at his unconscious boyfriend, "you're right. I'll be back in the morning. Thank you guys."

Then she kissed Otis' forehead, and she left the room.

"I'm not used to see him so quiet." Cruz said, sitting down next to the bed.

"I know." Brett smiled, "but I'm sure he will be exactly as annoying as usual in no time."

.

The next morning Cruz and Brett walked in the common room.

"How is Otis? Did he wake up?" Hermann asked.

"He is stable. Dr. Choi said he will start to diminish the sedative in the morning, so he should be awake by tonight." Brett said.

"That's good." Casey said.

"Yeah, Lily will text us as soon as he wakes up." Cruz said.

" I was actually thinking to detach a little earlier from the job, to be there for him." He said looking at his superiors.

"Ok. I think you can do that, but we will talk about it later." Severide said, while Casey nodded.

.

At the hospital Lily was watching over Otis.

Dr. Choi had already lowered the amount of sedatives, and the patient's sleep was becoming lighter and a little agitated.

A nurse came in to check on him, and she smiled at Lily.

"Take it easy, he will sleep a few more hours." She said. "Don't worry, it's a good thing!"

Lily nodded. "Thank you." She said watching the nurse walking out of the room.

.

Otis started to regain consciousness: he heard the regular beeping sound of the heart monitor, he started to feel the tubes and the IVs in his arms, and he felt his movement limited by the neck brace.

Lily noticed something was up, so she approached the bed and took his hand.

"Brian, it's ok. It's me, Lily. Can you hear me?"

He slowly opened his eyes. He was confused. He felt like he was already been there. He remembered waking up after he was shot, with Joe on his side.

"Lily... What... What happened?"

He remembered waking up after the surgery, he remembered he wasn't able to walk anymore, and then the rehab... But he was almost on his feet again.

'Was that all a dream?' He thought.

His mind couldn't focus.

"You had a bad fever, can you remember that?"

He started to recall. "Yes... Cruz and Brett took me here, right?"

"Yes, they did. Then your temperature rose really high, dr. Choi found out it was a symptom of a spinal fluid leak, 'cause you a had a small crack in your spine."

" What? I..."

"No, no, no. Don't worry! They sealed it! You are ok now." She was firmly holding his hand.

In that moment Cruz entered the room.

"Hey! You are awake!" He said, approaching his friend.

Otis forced a smile.

"I was telling him what happened, his mind is a little blurred." Lily said.

"What happened is that you scared us again, brother."

"I'm sorry..."

"You have been out for 3 days." She continued.

"3 days?"

"Doctors kept you sedate to minimize your movement."

"You have to take it easy this time brother, we are not going through something like this again."

Otis closed his eyes, to collect all his strengths and stay awake, while the two visitors looked at each other.

"I slept for 3 days, how can I be so tired?' He thought.

.

After Dr. Choi examined Otis and told them all was going well, Cruz texted Brett and the others, to tell them the good news.

He had to tell them not to came visit for now; doc said he needed more rest, and the entire firehouse being there making a mess around wouldn't be good this time.


End file.
